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Well sure enough my forks are bent thanks to loaning my bike to my B-law awhile back. First I took them to a machine shop that specialized in hydraulics, straightening bent rams, etc. I returned the next day only to find the wouldn't touch 'em - too thin they said.

Then I called Frank's which I understand is the only aftermarket fork manufacturer in the US. Forks for the Bandit were in stock! $249 for the pair plus about $22 UPS. (COD is the only way he ships) The only thing is the walls of the tubing Frank uses is so much thicker than stock, he sez my OEM springs won't fit. He hooked me up with a pair of Progressive Suspension springs through Fast Eddy for $74 paypal with free shipping. I kinda like the idea of beefier tubes & stiffer springs and still cheaper than the $400+ the OEM tubes would have set me back.

The springs arrived yesterday and the Frank's fork tubes came in today. The tubes are definitely heavier and have noticeably thicker walls. According to the digital scale the OEM tube weighs 3lbs 1.6oz and the Frank's unit is 3lbs 15oz. Just as Frank told me, the stock springs do not fit in the tubes but the new ones slide in just fine. I'm still waiting on seals and looking for fork oil cheaper than the dealer. Is there any other 10wt hydraulic oil that will work in a fork?

Don't know if Bandits are special in this regard, but on every bike I've had, fork oil ain't special. I put Yamaha fork oil in my previous bike because it wasn't expensive. Folks have been known to use automotive automatic transmission fluid, but it's not as stiff as 15 wt oil - which is what I run.

I don't wanna rain on your parade, but.....
you really should strip your bike of EVERYTHING and take it to a motorcycle frame specialist to have it checked?

I bought an '05 Bonneville that was run into a curb as well. Tubes were bent, as well as the front wheel. But EVERYTHING else still looked brand new (only 300 miles on the bike). I too contacted Frank, unfortunately the tubes he sent me for a Thruxton didn't fit my standard Bonnie (they were good about refunding my money).
Bottom line..... as good as the bike looked (save for bent tubes), it turned out that my rotor needed to be replaced, the swingarm & other incidentals needed to be addressed, and the bike's frame was bent. I woulda never guessed it, and the Triumph dealership didn't catch it either.... but it cost me about $800 to get it all sorted out.

As a side note, I was already riding another '05 Bonneville while REbuilding the other one. The rebuilt Bonnie with it's freshly dialed in frame handled VASTLY better than my other Bonnie! As it turns out, guys who race bikes send their brand new stripped down bikes to The Frame Man (Sacramento, CA) to have him dial their frames in BEFORE anything else is done to their racing machine. Even from the factory, the frames are NOT perfect......

Are you absolutely sure (as per laser assisted equipment) that your frame is NOT bent?

I don't wanna rain on your parade, but.....
you really should strip your bike of EVERYTHING and take it to a motorcycle frame specialist to have it checked?

Are you absolutely sure (as per laser assisted equipment) that your frame is NOT bent?

Good advice, thanks. I'd consider the frame check if I had to pull the motor for another reason but it tracks straight and handles as well as it ever did. The bike is 8yrs old with 56k on the clock and I'm hoping to upgrade before too long.
In the meantime . . . . . . . . . . . .

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